I make my own chicken stock, from carcasses given by a friend after her Sunday roast. I use these stocks for soups, including Mamta's chicken mulligatawny, and Steve Lister's spicy pumpkin soup.
Keith Floyd says the strain the stock through a very thin sieve. I don't strain mine at all, which means that my soups have a lot of chicken fat in them.
Is this a mistake, or does the chicken fat add flavour?
Phil
Phil, when making stock from leftover whole roast chicken carcass, I put the whole thing in a pressure cooker, along with a couple of bay leaves, any vegetable peelings of the day, including onions and potatoes. I learnt this from a Once the pressure is built and pressure cook on on low for half an hour. I learnt about the stock making once from a South Carolina, USA, restaurant in 1980s. They had a huge pot simmering on a stove, with all vegetables peelings of the day as they came, including potatoes and onions, and any/all meat bits (skin, bones, fat), stalks of herbs they were using etc. The aroma was lovely.
I asked the chef how he had such lovely taste and flavours in his soup, what was his secret? That is when he took me to see his bubbling stock-pot :). This was in the early days, when I was just learning to cook Western food, which of course I am still learning :).
I do sieve it, but if making a chicken soup from a stock made from chicken carcass, I will often pick clean bits of meat from the bones and add to my soup.
I did some search just now, as I am sure you have too, and found this interesting article; http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/10/how-to-make-rich-flavorful-easy-chicken-stock.html
Thanks, Mamta!
Peelings: hadn't thought of that! Makes sense.
By the way, can we still buy Mamta's Kitchen aprons? I left mine in France, but it was really badly stained, so, if I get a new one, I'll make a point of sticking it in the washing machine frequently.
Phil
You can! I've managed to hunt down the box of aprons, and I've fixed the apron shopping page at http://mamtaskitchen.com/apron.php - we now use Paypal to process the payments, and I've had to slightly change things so that shipping is now included.
Let me know if you have any problems!
I've been making chicken stock (and others) for over forty years, and although everyone probably has their own recipe, I thought you might like my two anna's worth:
I only make roasted chicken stock. If the carcase still has skin on, sometimes I may roast this some more, or pan fry it will a little fructose. This sugar adds to the chicken flavour.
I put all the chicken bits in a large saucepan and cover with fresh cold water. To the pan, I add crushed black pepper, dash of cloves, parsley stalks and leaf, but no onion or garlic or salt. I usually add celery stalks and leaves.
I bring the pan contents to the boil, then turn to low heat and simmer for half an hour. I then strain off the bones, et al, and return the bones to the pan, cover with water and repeat the process, saving the liquid from the first simmering.
I simmer for a second time, for between half an hour and an hour, depending on how much of the connecting tissue I can render down. I then sieve the contents, and combine both liquids. When this cools, it should become a gel.
I do not add salt. I do not skim off the chicken fat. I always simmer with a lid on, and as I don't peel most veg, my veg stock is usually made from fresh veg.
I can see how it would save time, Mamta, but simmering is essential, IMHO.
Why no onions, Helen?
I'm going to get a grouse soon, here in the Scottish Borders, and do game stock after I've roasted it.
One of my nephews will shoot me a wood pigeon soon, so there will be stock from that too, after I've roasted it, or pan-fried the breasts.
I've done blackberry sauce with some local venison: yum! Indian spices in the blackberry juice.
Pete: I ordered my new pinny!
Phil
Hi Phil,
it may be a personal thing, but I do not like the flavour of boiled onions. To me, a stock is just to give a base flavour (ideally of the main constituents!) but, in the case of chicken stock, I think the celery is also important, and reminds me of chicken stock in professional kitchens I've visited. However, sometimes when I cook a roast chicken, I add a whole onion, and use that for stocks! (Fickle, I know!)
Also, no salt, as one cannot guarantee the salt level in the final dish.
It is interesting to look at old cookery books, I'm talking 19th-20th century French in particular. There, they use whole chunks of meat to prepare the stock, not left overs, such was the importance of the stock and the repeatability of its preparation to their recipes. At Christmas, I still use two whole roast chickens to make my gravy from (the previous night!), even though we have turkey!
My friends in India say they don't make stock, as they can't keep it. But its OK in the fridge, and if boiled every day, although flavour will be lost each time it is boiled.
HTH
That's interesting, Helen. Here, back in Scotland, I don't buy celery, since you can only get a huge celery from the supermarket, whereas, in France, I'd just break off a bit, which my lovely Moroccan grocer would give me for nothing.
I don't like celery, but it's interesting that you say it enhances the chicken flavour.
A locally-shot grouse tomorrow. If not, red-legged partridges for the Sunday roast, and then stock from them.
I got my new Mamta's Kitchen apron: brill! And a little snacks bowl with it: lovely!
Phil
Phil,
Glad it arrived safely, the bowl was a gift from Pete and I --- I made it my very self! I took up pottery last year, and got Pete into it this year, and now we have a tiny Etsy pottery shop! (Studio Favelle).
ENJOY!
Kavita
Thanks, Kavey! It's lovely!
Good luck with this new venture!
Phil
Thanks Phil! We felt since you had already bought one apron from us, we'd send a little extra for apron number 2!!
It's just a sideline, but we're enjoying it. I started pottery last May after taking a one hour class in Japan for fun. My friends kept saying I should sell some of the things I was posting online, so Pete help me set up the Etsy shop last October.
Over Christmas, he started helping me make some of the little owls that had been proving popular and then got quite into making other stuff, and now he's joined the same weekly class we go to, AND we recently bought our own kiln!
I still have my same day job though, so it's very much a hobby / sideline!
For anyone who wants to visit, it's www.StudioFavelle.co.uk which should fwd to the Etsy.